happy looking back

"Sun Jihai, who was about to sit in the driving seat, turned his head and didn't look surprised to see the coy middle-aged man in front of him, but the expression on his face was sympathetic and somewhat helpless.

"That--that, I'd better go back first." The middle-aged man glanced at the fresh lettuce on the truck, picked up the shoulder pole awkwardly and wanted to run, but Sun Jihai who rushed up grabbed the basket.The man rubbed his palms covered with black mud, trying to stop him but he dared not move. His cowardice and low self-esteem, his thick red neck, made people feel unbearable.

"Master Liu, I'll take your lettuce. Here's a dollar and thirty-seven, you take it." Ignoring the middle-aged man's embarrassment and shame, Sun Jihai took out the cash from his jacket pocket and stuffed it all into the middle-aged man. hands.

"Comrade Xiaohai, I can't take this money!" The middle-aged man rejected the money in his hand, with a firm expression on his simple and honest face, "My lettuce is not as strong as the ones grown in other people's big greenhouses. Asking me to accept this money is to look down on my old Liu!" Looking at the red eyes of the middle-aged man, Sun Jihai loosened his tightly gripped hands.The lettuce in the basket of the middle-aged man is thin and shriveled. It looks like it has been frostbitten by the winter frost. It is incomparable to the lettuce on the truck with white slurry.

"Well, Master Liu, I'll take it home and eat it myself, it's okay!" Sun Jihai said as he was about to dump the lettuce in the basket onto the truck. Wen's eyelids were swollen dark red, and faint moisture quietly spread in the cloudy eyes.

Future "Specialties"

"Since Comrade Xiaohai's family eats it, naturally he can't eat so much." The middle-aged man grabbed the basket and picked it up carefully, "These are thicker—" The middle-aged man started talking, as if thinking of a truck As for the better-looking vegetables, the man lowered his head embarrassingly and said, "These are relatively tender, so let's keep them." As he said, he put the selected lettuces on the truck, and without waiting for Sun Jihai to give him money, he picked up the baskets Just plan to leave.

"Let's keep the money. Catch Liu Ji's health better tomorrow, so let him report directly to me!" Sun Jihai no longer insisted, for such an honest farmer who was respected from the bottom of his heart, he hypocritically postponed his treatment. It's an insult to him.So Sun Jihai gave the money, but demanded "Liu Ji" to go to work immediately.The seemingly harsh tone moved the "Master Liu" in front of him to tears.

"I thank Comrade Xiaohai on behalf of my son!" "Master Liu" tightly held the crumpled RMB in his hand, choked up and didn't know what to say.Sun Jihai, who knows the hardships of life, does not understand the pain of the man in front of him who is grateful but suffers without words.So he didn't say anything, just patted the middle-aged man's thin shoulders with his big callused hands.He believes that Liu Ji, who is healthy, will be a good employee who is willing to endure hardships and stand hard work, because he has such an awe-inspiring and good father.

"Master Liu, do you know Artemisia annua?" Looking at the man who was silently agitated, I thought that such a father who needs money but knows how to get it in a proper way, his personality is invaluable.As for the actions between Sun Jihai and Master Liu, it is conceivable that this is by no means the first time the two have met. Maybe the same situation happened before: a poor father raised life-saving money for his seriously ill son.But in this age where there are almost no charities, and the folk customs are simple, but self-respecting and arrogant, giving and giving, and getting something for nothing are despised behaviors.It is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.

"Baby, three generations of farmers in Master Liu's family grew up on the banks of the Yangtze River, so they naturally know what Artemisia is!" Seeing my strange question, Sun Jihai replied honestly, looking at my Master Liu with embarrassment. , "Every family in Chongyang and Mid-Autumn Festival makes glutinous rice cakes with the leaves of Artemisia argyi. The taste is fragrant and sweet, and it is our favorite snack and dessert in the south of the Yangtze River." Sun Jihai squinted his eyes with endless aftertaste, swallowing saliva unconsciously in his throat.

"Now is the time for Artemisia germinates. We remove the leaves and keep the stems of the Artemisia that grows wild along the Yangtze River, and stir-fry it with lean shredded pork. This dish is not only fragrant and delicious, crisp, tender and refreshing, but also rich in nutrition. It has the miraculous effects of relieving cough, reducing inflammation, reducing internal heat, and reducing phlegm." Sun Jihai and Master Liu were all dumbfounded when they heard my endless praise for the inconspicuous weed Artemisia annua.

Seeing that the effect of the lure was obvious, I continued to encourage, "Now the people in the capital like this dish. If there is no shredded pork and artemisia in the banquet, it will be impossible to entertain the guests." I looked at Master Liu with an exaggerated expression, It seemed to be exclaiming: Don't you know such a famous dish?

Surprise and scorching flashed in Master Liu's chaotic eyes, but he still turned his gaze to Sun Jihai beside him with half-belief.On the other hand, Sun Jihai frowned, thinking carefully.

I saw that the heat was just right, so I continued to incite, "It is said that the great leader once praised this dish during the [-]-mile long march. That's why there was a great poem with magnificent mountains and rivers later: The rolling torrent dyes the blue sky, and the floating giant Dance with the Changhong. Thousands of mountains fly over the clouds to chase the moon, and thousands of horses gallop to bluff the wind.” Whether the great man wrote this majestic poem because he ate Artemisia argyi at that time can only be left to the historians of later generations to study .

"He is the number one student in the college entrance examination in Shancheng County this year, the grandson of the elder Ge's family! He just came back from the winter vacation at the Capital University, so what he said can't be wrong!" A dish that even great men have eaten!Since even great men have eaten it, it must be a delicacy that is too good to be true.The powerful rendering power of celebrity effect can be glimpsed here.Even Li Xiqing, who has always been an avant-garde thinker, unknowingly stretched his brows, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes as he looked at me.

"En! En! En!" Master Liu looked at me, confused for a while, rubbing his muddy hands nonchalantly, not knowing where to put them, just shy and smiling silly.In view of the famous names of the young father and the straightforward grandfather, who is a rare top scorer in the college entrance examination and has been to the capital, such a person, in the eyes of the honest and honest Master Liu, is the same as the "chief executive" shown in the open-air movie status.

"Master Liu, tomorrow morning——, no! Tonight, you will prepare dozens of catties of this kind of wild Artemisia reticulata with leaves and stems removed. I will take it back and give it to Village Chief Ge to taste. If it is worthy of the name, then our little Isn't there another authentic farm dish in Hecun!" Sun Jihai rubbed his hands excitedly, as if preparing for a big fight.Master Liu on the side was also flushed with excitement, and he froze in place, not knowing what to say, and just bared his cracked teeth silly.

"The price is based on the price of fresh Chinese cabbage first. If it is officially served on the table, I guess this thing will sell for the price of watercress!" Sun Jihai's bold estimate made Master Liu so excited that the windfall fell from the sky. , who wouldn't want to!Master Liu quickly picked up the baskets, not caring about the thin lettuce hanging on the bamboo baskets, and ran like crazy to the edge of the Yangtze River.

"Master Liu, I didn't hear clearly just now, is this wild wormwood worth the money of Chinese cabbage?" Passers-by heard the exclaimed conversation between Sun Jihai and Master Liu, and they probably heard the outline.At this time, seeing Master Liu rushing towards the Yangtze River with baskets in his hands, he believed it [-]% to [-]% of the time, so they rushed to Master Liu to find out the truth.

"Everyone follow me to pick wild wormwood! Master Xiaohai said that the price of wild wormwood with leaves and stems removed will be calculated according to the price of Chinese cabbage. In the future, this wild wormwood can be sold for two or three cents a catty. Even the great leader said wild Artemisia is delicious and nutritious!" Master Liu's words made the people around him exclaim: Obediently!Great people say it's delicious, so it's wrong!Two or thirty cents a catty, that's ten times the price of green cabbage!

Ever since, I was fortunate to see the magnificent scene of "rising from the pole" in my lifetime.

"I hope I don't mess up~~~" The effect is so good that it is beyond my imagination.Unexpectedly, today, more than ten years after the death of the great man, his appeal is still so strong. He really deserves to write such a great generation of great revolutionaries who wrote "the past is the past, counting the romantic figures, and looking at the present." , statesman and poet.

"At this Xiaohe Village celebration dinner, I specially ordered a plate, and I believe there will be unexpected gains." As expected of a newly emerging entrepreneur, Li Xiqing, who is thoughtful and thoughtful, launched Xiaohe Village's special dish "Fried Shredded Pork with Artemisia", Fueling the flames again.I believe wild vegetables can be sold for more than ten yuan a catty in the twentieth century, and their medicinal value and fresh taste cannot be underestimated.

"Thank you, baby!" Sun Jihai briskly climbed into the driver's cab, and started the truck swiftly, with a series of skillful and quick movements, as if the "thank you" didn't come from him at all.Looking at Sun Jihai's reddish ears, I think he may have understood my purpose from the very beginning of "teaching a man to fish is worse than giving him a fish".

"Uncle Sun's driving skills are really good!" It's really good, and I'm not just boasting.That speed was the same as that of the arrows shot out, and only the biting cold wind could be heard whizzing by.And Li Xiqing and I sat behind the truck without any cover.The cold wind drilled into my neck mercilessly, making me shiver from the cold.I am not in the mood to appreciate the lush fir trees on the roadside and the magnificent white greenhouse on the ridge.

"Ge Yuanchao, it's not that being a junior doesn't save you face, it's really that what you did is infuriating, and not killing is not enough to anger the common people! Huhu~~~" I breathed hot