1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 159 Something happened
Yi Long put the kale that Lao Wu wanted onto the cart. Just then, he heard Lao Wu's words and turned around to shout, "My uncle has become a father. Of course he's happy!"

"Huh?!" Old Wu's expression, which had been somewhat angry, quickly changed, and he looked at Chen Jiazhi with suspicion and surprise.

"When did this happen?"

"Just yesterday afternoon."

"Congratulations, congratulations!"

"Thank you."

"What are you congratulating me on?" During the conversation, another person came over. It was Xu He, who had also come to pick up the kale. After learning the reason, he couldn't help but offer his congratulations.

"No wonder you said you had family matters to attend to and couldn't leave. Is it your son or your daughter?"

"son."

"Congratulations~"

"Congratulations~"

Several more congratulations followed, and even the owner of stall number 55 across the street came over to join in the fun.

If we're talking about regions that favor sons over daughters, Guangdong in that era would be among the top.

So, in one night, Yi Long witnessed many faces of a person: the disappointment of no longer being able to take food from stall number 56, the congratulations to his uncle, and the anger of getting rotten food outside.

Every customer who comes here inevitably experiences these three emotions~
We're done selling.

"Uncle, you haven't named my cousin yet?"

"That's your grandfather's job."

"What's your nickname?"

Chen Jiazhi pondered for a while. He had a nickname in his previous life, but it was a bit of a tongue twister. After thinking for a moment, he asked in a questioning tone, "How about Chen Jiangdou?"

"It sounds awful, no way. I have to go back and talk to my aunt. She definitely won't agree to this nickname."

"Should we still put away the traps?"

"want!"

When the topic of the ground cage came up, Yi Long packed up his stall even faster.

When Mr. Hu, the owner of stall number 55, saw that stall number 56 was empty again, he couldn't help but say enviously, "This Mr. Chen is really lucky."

I left the market quite late today, and by the time I reached the ditch where the traps were being set, it was already past four o'clock, and dawn was just around the corner.

Perhaps because it had been stored for a long time, Yi Long exclaimed in surprise at the first harvest.

"Wow~ so many fish, and eels too!"

"Hold the basket steady, I'm going to dump it."

Chen Jiazhi spotted the large crucian carp in the cage at a glance and couldn't help but laugh.

My second sister complained that the crucian carp soup I made yesterday was too oily, so I'll have to try making it again.

He poured out the catch, which included large crucian carp, a number of small crucian carp, an eel, several loaches, and five or six crayfish.

Yi Long asked, "Uncle, do you still want some crayfish?"

Chen Jiazhi thought for a moment, then, realizing he still had some at home, said, "Let's keep them."

"How do we eat it?"

"I'm giving you a task: this afternoon, peel the shrimp tails, keeping only the meat from the tails. Don't take the heads or claws. I'll do it when I get back tonight. Coat the shrimp tails with flour and fry them a little; they'll taste amazing."

"Okay." Yi Long's mouth watered just hearing that. "But why at night?"

"I need to go to the hospital during the day."

"Okay."

Whether it's crayfish or prawns, Chen Jiazhi finds it troublesome to peel anything.

But in my past life, I ate a lot of crayfish. Whether in Guangzhou or my hometown, crayfish were plentiful, and I could get quite a lot every summer.

When he was a child, his father often went to catch shrimp. After bringing them back, his mother would only take the little bit of meat from the shrimp tail, without any shells, coat it with some flour, and fry it in oil. It was delicious.

It's just that it's troublesome to process; a bucket of crayfish might only yield a small plate of finished product.

Chen Jiazhi knows other ways of cooking, but he doesn't find them interesting.

As they were talking, they arrived at the second trap and had a bountiful harvest.

Wild resources in this era are not as plentiful as in the 80s, but they are still relatively abundant.

"Uncle, I can't lift it, it's too heavy!"

Chen Jiazhi looked back and saw that he had collected five baskets in a row, and the vegetable baskets were nearly a third high.

"I'll do it, you get the trap."

"it is good."

The vegetable basket was floating on the water. After Chen Jiazhi took it, he used a lot of strength to lift it out of the water.

Immediately, water began to leak from the bottom of the basket, and fish were jumping around inside. Two of them were lucky and escaped directly.

Chen Jiazhi found a small ledge, climbed up it, and then carried the basket back to the car, his pants completely soaked.

The night was no longer dark enough to stop the rush of dawn. As the two approached the market, they could already see the shape of the houses.

Suddenly it occurred to me that the letter from my hometown must have arrived quite some time ago.

I need to share some more good news with my family.

Just call someone to pass on a message. Once they know it's their grandson, and with the letter he wrote, their parents will naturally get anxious.

After changing his clothes at home, Chen Jiazhi went to the dam area again.

Yi Long went to the kitchen to get a bucket and started sorting the fish and shrimp, so he went to help. After a while, Yi Dinggan, who had finished making breakfast, also came out to take a look. He was delighted to see that the two of them had brought back so many fish and shrimp, including two or three large crucian carp.

"Good, good, Jiazhi, Xiaolong, wash your hands and have breakfast first, then we'll get ready."

Other vegetable farmers also got up one after another and saw the buckets and porcelain basins placed on the edge of the dam. They all went up to take a look.

Chen Jiazhi and Yi Long sat at the door with bowls of minced meat noodles, chatting with people from time to time. Yi Long's lips were practically curled up to the sky, and he ate the bowl of minced meat noodles as if it were a delicacy.

After eating the noodles, Chen Jiazhi went back to the house, took out a white cloth, and then took out the basin and bucket containing the pickled mustard green seeds from last night, preparing to germinate them.

In summer, when temperatures are high and humidity is high, pre-germination can reduce the risk of seed rot and increase the germination rate, while pre-germination in winter is to shorten the germination time.

If you find it troublesome, you can just broadcast it directly.

Chen Jiazhi had already developed a routine: soaking seeds before going to sell vegetables and scooping them out when he came back. He felt uneasy if he didn't germinate the seeds after a while.

You reap what you sow. If you can't even sow the seeds properly, how can you expect to reap the harvest?
After germinating the fish and shrimp, Chen Jiazhi handed over all the work of taking care of them to Yi Long before rushing back to the field.

All three groups of vegetable workers had already started work.

The harvest of bok choy, mustard greens, and Chinese kale has come to an end, with only 2.3 acres of cowpeas left to harvest, but the bok choy seedlings are growing rapidly and will soon be ready to be picked.

After quickly surveying the area, I knew exactly what tasks needed to be done.

First, there was the application of pesticides. He couldn't supervise the mixing of the pesticides, so he had to emphasize the dosage and method twice.

Secondly, those that haven't received additional fertilizer should continue to receive it.

Finally, while there are still few vegetables, finish up all the miscellaneous work in the field, such as weeding, clearing ditches, and building small greenhouses...

After he finished speaking, Ao Dehai asked, "Boss, the loofah vines are withering. Should we collect the seeds?"

"I'll deal with the loofahs when I get back. Some of them are specially marked, which you might not recognize," Chen Jiazhi said thoughtfully. "We can clear away the bitter gourd vines and trellises first."

"it is good."

"I'll leave the work in the field to you now; I need to go to the hospital."

"Brother Zhi, don't worry, we'll take care of things in the fields."

New mothers can only eat easily digestible foods, which can be bought at the hospital, so Chen Jiazhi didn't bring anything with him.

After arriving at the room, Li Xiu looked much better and was chatting and laughing quietly with her second sister, while the little one next to her was sleeping soundly.

Li Xiu saw him. "Jiazhi, didn't you have an exam today? Why are you here now?"

Chen Jiazhi: "My second sister didn't rest, so I'll take her place. We'll go for the exam next time."

Chen Jiafang: "No need, no need. You go take the exam first, and then come back to relieve me, or Huang Juan can come too."

"..." Chen Jiazhi was a little confused.

Li Xiu then asked, "Jiazhi, have you named your son yet?"

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "How about Dou Dou? Let's call her that for now. It's not her real name. Dad will choose her real name."

“DouDou…”

Li Xiu muttered something to herself, then looked down at the child, finally nodded, and urged, "Then hurry up and go take the exam. There should still be enough time, right?"

Aren't you worried that I'll fail the exam?

"You'll be fine."

Chen Jiafang also said, "Go, go, do well on the exam, I'll take care of things here."

"..."

After chatting for a couple more minutes, Chen Jiazhi rushed to the examination hall. He made it without any major mishaps, performed normally, and passed the exam on his first try.

...

Two more days passed.

Li Xiu was discharged from the hospital and returned to the market; she was recovering well.

Chen Jiazhi's daily income has plummeted to a low of around 400 yuan.

He remained cheerful, not only because of the new addition to his family and the safety of both mother and child, but also because of the positive feedback from his clients.

There are no leafy greens left.

But when regulars like Lao Wu, Juanmao, and 377 wander around the market, they would stop by to exchange a few pleasantries with him.

It was supposed to be a pleasantry, but it was more of a complaint session.

During this period, Chen Jiazhi ran out of vegetables and had to buy them from outside, which actually highlighted his advantage.

The most common problem is rotten vegetables.

Some vegetables were affected by rain, while others were watered by farmers to increase their weight. The high humidity and heavy packaging caused the vegetables at the bottom to rot when they were taken home and turned over.

In contrast, Chen Jiazhi adopted measures such as late harvesting, fixed weight, and light loading, as well as small tools like iron nails, sparing no effort in protecting the vegetables. Even if left at room temperature overnight, they would not rot.

The difference in quality is immediately apparent.

Everyone wanted to take his leafy greens again.

Chen Jiazhiye never expected that cutting off food supplies would have such benefits, yet it made perfect sense.

There are too few refrigeration facilities nowadays, and farmers generally have a weak awareness of protection, so it is not surprising that such problems occur.

But soon something else happened that left him speechless.

At noon on the 27th, Chen Jiazhi was eating lunch and listening to the news as usual when a Cantonese news flash made his eyes widen.

Something terrible has happened in Hong Kong: two people have died from pesticide residues.

(End of this chapter)