An orphan girl from a farming family: Everyday farming in the mountains during natural disasters

Chapter 204 Picking Persimmons and Fishing with Nets

Xia Qingyue's mood rose and fell, like the ebb and flow of the tide.

She had high expectations for her future life in the valley after marriage, and she couldn't help but smile whenever she thought about it.

She is going to the valley tomorrow. In the evening, she will have a pot of steamed yam as the staple food, half a dried rabbit meat, and a bowl of amaranth egg soup.

We are about to enter deep autumn, and it is noticeably cool in the mountains in the morning and evening. I have to put on a long-sleeved shirt and drink some hot soup at night to warm my whole body.

She tidied up the kitchen and took a shower with hot water. She should have washed her hair today, but when she thought about having to work tomorrow and it would get dirty, she decided to wash it tomorrow.

A good night's sleep.

At 8:00 the next day, Han Zhibai and Xiaobai came to the valley to meet Xia Qingyue and Heihei.

As soon as they got home, Han Zhibai led her to the kitchen and took out a bowl of brown sugar poached eggs from the iron pot on the stove. "It's still hot, eat it while it's hot."

She had eaten breakfast before going out, but she had walked for more than an hour and had used up some energy. Besides, the food was already cooked. "Okay."

Heihei also had something to eat, which was some boiled and broken chicken and duck eggs and fish meat.

The brown sugar tastes sweet, and she likes it very much. She eats the egg white first, and then drinks the egg yolk slowly with the soup. If she eats too fast, it will get stuck in her throat and is not good.

Han Zhibai, who was standing by, noticed this detail and kept it in mind.

After eating, Han Zhibai washed the pots and bowls in time.

Xia Qingyue played with the two little ones under the eaves. After a while, Han Zhibai came out after finishing his work. "Qingyue, I'm going to go fish. I'll kill and clean the fish by the river and bring them back. How about you keep them at home and pickle them?"

"You haven't caught any fish yet, so I want to go to the river with you to pick some persimmons. Persimmons are easy to handle and can be dried in the sun. Fish can be pickled quickly and need to be pickled for a few days before they can be dried in the sun."

"Okay, let's go together."

The two men carried backpacks and large wooden barrels. Han Zhibai also carried a wooden ladder on his shoulder and headed for the river. As they started, the two little ones jogged to follow them.

From a distance, Xia Qingyue saw several tall persimmon trees on the river bank, which were full of bright yellow persimmons. Under the sunlight, they shone with golden light. Each persimmon looked like a yellow gem. The river surface not far away was sparkling with ripples, and the shadows of the trees were swaying. Everything looked beautiful.

She couldn't help but exclaimed: "It's so beautiful."

Han Zhibai said: "Recently, the trees in the valley have begun to shed their leaves, and more will fall in a while. I don't know when it will snow this year, but I just hope it won't snow for as long as last year."

"How do you and the poultry keep warm in winter?" she asked curiously.

"The charcoal left over from burning firewood is stored from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, which is enough for about three months. At this time of year in previous years, I would go to the mountains to chop a lot of dry firewood and store it."

Xia Qingyue talked about how she and the poultry survived the winter last year, and mentioned that charcoal could be made. Han Zhibai listened with great interest and praised her for being so smart for being able to think of such methods.

While chatting, they came to the river bank.

Han Zhibai adjusted the wooden ladder and made it stable, "Qingyue, I'm going to put the fish cages. Wait for me to come over. I'll go up the tree to pick persimmons."

"It's okay, I can do it." She grabbed the wooden ladder and climbed up step by step. With nimble movements, she reached the tree trunk in a few steps and picked two persimmons.

She held the persimmons in her hand and showed them to him. "Look, it's very stable. I'll tie the sack to the tree trunk. When there's enough persimmons, I'll put it down."

"Okay, be careful, I'll go get the fish."

Han Zhibai went to the river.

The two little ones stayed under the persimmon tree. They barked at Xia Qingyue, curious about how she climbed up the tree.

"Heihei, Xiaobai, I'm going to pick persimmons, you guys play around."

She picked a slightly softer persimmon, wiped it roughly with her sleeve, took a bite, and the sweet juice immediately burst in her mouth.

"Really delicious!"

The flesh at the core of the persimmon is crispy, and this is her favorite part of the persimmon.

After eating one, she continued to eat the fruits on the branches. She picked them easily and soon filled half a sack. The more she picked, the happier she was, as if she had picked up money.

After picking a sack, she tied it up with a rope and put it down with her hands. Her palms were sticky from the persimmons she had just eaten. She wiped her hands on the tree trunk.

The sunshine after autumn is not as hot as in summer, and the autumn breeze is cool and pleasant.

Xia Qingyue picked up five sacks and put them down, enough to fill a few backpacks. She climbed the wooden ladder and went down, intending to carry some back.

"Oh yeah, I remember there was a wheelbarrow in the shed where Blackie lived in the backyard. We should get it out."

She was carrying the persimmons and was thinking about going back to get the cart. After she had taken a few steps, she saw Han Zhibai pushing a cart towards her from the direction of her home.

"Yeah, he's pushing it." She smiled and put down the basket. "Then I'll continue to climb the trees and pick more. One cart can hold a lot."

She climbed up the tree and continued picking.

Han Zhibai pushed the cart to the bottom of the tree, loaded all the picked persimmons on it, and pushed the cart back home.

Xia Qingyue picked them from the tree.

After working for more than an hour, she finished picking the persimmons from one tree and picked most of the fruits from the second tree. The crown of the tree was still relatively high and she could not reach it, so she left it for Han Zhibai to pick.

It was already noon, Han Zhibai was fishing by the river, and Xia Qingyue went back to prepare lunch, her stomach growling with hunger.

The persimmons that were brought back were piled in the shade in the corner of the eaves, and next to them were several buckets and large basins of fish, including two buckets of snails, river shrimps and clams. She knew that they were what Han Zhibai planned to keep to feed the chickens and ducks.

She picked out the big stone snails and river shrimps, and put them in a wooden basin, poured water, added a proper amount of chili powder and a rusty iron tool to keep them from spitting out the sand.

It would be a waste not to fry such good snails. Last year they said they would make snail noodles, but we haven’t had it yet this year.

The two little ones came back after playing tired. They surrounded Xia Qingyue and looked at her eagerly.

"You must be hungry. I'll steam some fish for you right away." She prepared three large fish, steamed them with a bowl of egg liquid, and then thought about what to cook for lunch.

She looked through the vegetable basket and found a vegetable colander covering the wooden barrel next to it. When she opened it, she saw that it was filled with chopped duck meat, and the portion was enough for two ducks.

"Then let's make fried duck with kimchi, stir-fry some shrimp and Chinese cabbage, and make pumpkin soup for lunch."

The two small steamed fish eggs are ready. Take them out and let them dry. Pour out the water in the big iron pot and pour the duck meat in without adding oil. After the duck oil is fried out, add the sour peppers, sour ginger and garlic cloves and stir-fry until fragrant. Add some salt and soy sauce, stir well, then add water and boil.

While cooking the duck, she selected and prepared the vegetables, and in her spare time, she evenly spread salt on the fish, leaving no corner inside and outside untouched.

On the way, Han Zhibai pushed back a cart of fish.

She said to him, "The meal is almost ready, eat first."

"Okay, I'll go wash my hands." He took the tea seed powder and went to the well to wash his hands. After washing, he went to the utility room, took down a clay pot from a row of shelves, and carried it to the kitchen.

When the duck is almost cooked, pour in the chopped pickled radish and sour cowpea and stir-fry until the sauce is absorbed.

"Qingyue, have some dried pears." He took a pair of clean chopsticks and picked up a small bowl of yellowish dried pears.

“Are you not finished eating this yet?”

Some time ago, they went hunting in the forest every day. One time, Han Zhibai brought her some dried pears to eat. Seeing that she liked them, he brought them to her every day since then.

"There's also this jar of dried persimmons. It's just right for us to have more after we finish eating."