Her Cultivation Diary-Chapter 214 - . Pumpkin and Cowpea_1

Chapter 214: 214. Pumpkin and Cowpea_1

Chapter 214: 214. Pumpkin and Cowpea_1

Zhao Fangyuan had spent more than half a day wandering the mountains, feeling utterly satisfied and longing for more, her mind fixated on the experience.

After coming down from the mountain, she felt too embarrassed to show her face and promptly shut herself in her room—It’s worth mentioning that, since there was really no more space left to sleep in the house, Qiaoqiao went to sleep with her grandparents, and Zhao Fangyuan took over his bedroom.

Now she had to work behind closed doors, rushing to finish her design drawings; in a few days, she’d urgently gather the data. If she delayed any longer, there truly wouldn’t be enough living space!

However, her trip to the mountains also served as a reminder to Song Tan—the protective nets on both sides really should have something planted on them.

If they couldn’t plant Golden Sakura in time, they could wait until next year; for this year, they’d just plant some other vegetables and fruits. They would just need to be a bit more vigilant.

After all, with several treasures around, who ran wild across the mountains every day, nothing would be missed.

After thinking about it, she went to find Zhang Yanping after coming down from the mountain:

“Brother Yanping, if we really can’t find Golden Sakura, then let’s just forget it. I’ll think of something else to plant there.”

“What do you plan to plant?”

Song Tan hesitated, “I haven’t thought it through yet…”

Since watermelon vines and peach trees had already occupied the inner parts, it would be best to plant some kind of vine that could utilize the protective nets to grow.

Seventh Uncle happened to walk by and, after a moment’s thought, suggested, “Cowpeas or pumpkins, either would be good.”

As it turned out, Song Tan didn’t like either of those.

Moreover, there were already several pumpkin plants by the door, and about two portions of cowpeas were planted in the fields.

Seventh Uncle laughed, “Don’t say you don’t like to eat them, I used to dislike them too.”

This wasn’t them being picky eaters, but rather memories from the past being too dreadful to behold.

Cowpeas were ready for harvest during the hot summer, and cooking even a simple dish would leave one sweating buckets, naturally leaving no desire to fuss over other culinary variations.

And at that time, there were few other vegetables ready for harvest in the vegetable plot, only an endless supply of cowpeas.

Therefore, it would be cowpeas for breakfast, cowpeas for lunch, and cowpeas for dinner, causing one to detest every day they were eaten.

Who could continue eating like that and still enjoy it?

As for pumpkins, they were even less favored.

Back then, when every household was not well-off, there wasn’t much choice in what one ate, and pumpkins were certainly not picked young for stir-fry—what a waste that would be!

After all, an old pumpkin grew quite large and long, which was very efficient for feeding pigs and saved a lot on wheat bran and rice chaff.

For feeding humans, however…

Wang Lifan was particularly skilled at making pumpkin rice, a clever trick she used to fill the stomach during her childhood.

With one pumpkin being so big, with a thick belly and long neck, cooking up a huge pot of pumpkin rice wasn’t enough; they’d have to continue eating it for another two days—

Who could endure that?

So, when Song Tan heard Seventh Uncle’s suggestion, she was quite resistant:

“Seventh Uncle, I’ve already planted half a field of cowpeas, we really don’t need to plant more. As for pumpkins… why not try winter melon instead!”

“Either is fine.”

Seventh Uncle, who had offered the suggestion, was actually quite easygoing, “Pumpkin flowers, pumpkin tips, and young pumpkins all taste delicious when stir-fried! Cowpeas can be used to make pickled cowpeas, dried cowpeas, minced meat stir-fried with pickled cowpeas, rice stir-fried with pickled cowpeas, dried cowpeas stewed with pork ribs or beef in winter… Given the quality of your family’s produce, you’d surely have more demand than supply.”

“Winter melon is also good, the large size makes it tender and refreshing when cooked. You could even slice it and dry it for winter stews—it would last quite a while. The only problem is a winter melon can weigh dozens of pounds, and if you want it to climb, I fear the vine might not be able to support its weight…”

Song Tan: …

A climbing vine that was high-yielding and worry-free…

“Wouldn’t planting cherry tomatoes also be nice? They can even be eaten as fruit.”

It was her own plot of land, after all, and whatever she planted would be delicious. Seventh Uncle certainly wasn’t fussy, adopting a whatever-you-say-goes attitude.

But as reasonable as he was, he had already prepared a whole menu, making listeners drool with anticipation. Who would still have the heart to offer cherry tomatoes?

Song Tan thought it over from all angles and finally decided to replan the lengthy perimeter of the orchard. Then, she went on to discuss and set a series of crops with Zhang Yanping.

Who would make such choices amongst grown-ups?

Of course, they wanted it all!

Since the land was so vast and the ditches were all dug up, a portion could be allocated to grow some vegetables that weren’t available at home, while another section would be devoted to high-yield crops to make money for this year.

After all, they still needed to gather several hundred thousand to build a house!

However, sowing seeds at this time of the season would be a bit late, so without another word, she called the number of the place where she bought watermelon seedlings before:

“Uncle, do you know of any place that sells a variety of good-quality vegetable seedlings?”

She needed no small amount, something the other families in the village couldn’t fulfill.

Even over the phone, she could hear the surprise in the other party’s booming voice, “Vegetable seedlings? We have them here, pick whatever you want!”

After all, one couldn’t sell watermelon seedlings from the beginning to the end of the year, right?

The uncle on the other end of the line was full of enthusiasm, “I also have two greenhouses growing succulents that are popular now, the little girls love them a lot! Do you want to come and pick some?”

Song Tan: …

“Never mind the succulents,” Song Tan declined, “Right now, I only want something that can be eaten and sold for money.”

“Ai,” the uncle sounded unhappy, “Although succulents can’t be eaten, if you grow them well, a big pot can be quite expensive! I grew a large pot that sold for 500 yuan at the end of the year, not bad at all!”

The uncle was pushing hard, as the prices of succulents were much higher than those of vegetable seedlings.

Song Tan also laughed, delivering a fatal blow, “Uncle, no money.”

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The other party was momentarily speechless.

Then he laughed again:

“How can you, as a boss, have no money? You’re just being modest!”

He acted as if he saw through her, but no longer mentioned succulents, fearing even the conversation about the vegetable seedlings would evaporate.

He quickly urged her, “I’m looking at the weather, it might rain in a day or two, which is the perfect time for planting vegetables. Why not come and pick some now, and I’ll even deliver them to you early tomorrow morning?”

Song Tan: …

What was she waiting for?

Nature waits for no one!

Song Tan immediately grabbed her car keys:

“Dad, I’m going to check out the vegetable seedlings.”

Only Seventh Uncle was brimming with energy, “Does this mean we’ll need to cook for dozens more people tomorrow? Ah! I said this job isn’t easy…”

Seventh Grandma watched him eagerly pacing in the yard, thinking, That old man, do I not know you? You just love it when everyone comes to praise you.

Meanwhile, Song Sancheng rushed out of the house in a hurry:

“Tantan! Don’t rush off, I’ll call Master Zhang, the swine castrator. On your way back, could you bring him along?”

Song Tan became curious, “Master Zhang? A veterinarian? How much does it cost?”

Song Sancheng thought for a moment, “What veterinarian? The swine castrator! Have you forgotten? He was the one who castrated our pigs back in the day.”

It was just that they used to castrate them when the piglets were young, so it wasn’t noticeable at home anymore.

“As for how much… I didn’t ask, we haven’t needed his services for many years. If you’re offering him a ride there and back, it should cost around ten or twenty yuan.”

Song Tan: …!!!

“Ten or twenty yuan? Is that enough to cover the anaesthetic?”

“What anaesthetic?” Song Sancheng laughed, “Who needs that fancy stuff? Just catch its four legs, one quick slice with a knife and it’s done!”